The Things I Do
by vixenthief
Summary: Death is the one solid fact off life. However, there wasn't supposed to be anything else after that. Imagine my surprise when I am born into a night of chaos only to realize I'm in the universe of my favorite anime of all time Naruto. No I'm not trapped in the body of a main character. I'm Naruto fucking Uzumaki's damn sister!
1. When things begin

Death in my head was an inevitable fact that I accepted completely. It made me anxious every time I thought about what was next. It sure as hell wasn't this. No golden gates on fluffy clouds that's for sure. There was warmth and darkness. I couldn't see anything but it was very tight and I can't move. The way I died was stupid.

I still remember the day that lead up to this. A lack of attention in a construction sight and next thing I knew, pain. I was coming back to my apartment from the university I attended. My major was in art. I had a good family too. Siblings, mom, dad, cousins. I was running late because of city people traffic and my work uniform was still at home.

Being the brilliant person I am, I wanted to take a shortcut. An office building being built only had the frame done so I decided to cut through and across the lot. I didn't see the unstable steel bars hanging by some cord above me. There was no way I would have know that the metal rope I tripped over was one that held up one of the corners or that it would come out of the ground.

I dozed in and out of unconsciousness. There was no time or anything in this cramped blackness.

Suddenly there was noise. I'm jolted awake my massive hands and muffled voices. I can make out the words though. The warmth was gone. But that didn't matter. I was fucking terrified! My first instinct was to scream. And scream I did.

A soft and weak voice spoke right into my ear. Cooing and hushing like I was a baby. Wait… I AM a baby! I just got reborn! The shock of it only made me cry more. When a much deeper voice spoke, I managed to calm down. I grab onto a thick material. The man, my father most likely, nuzzled my head. He smelled nice to me.

"She's so tiny… smaller despite being the first." A different voice said. The words clearer now that panic subsided. "She seems partial to you."

"I'm glad." Father says. I still can't see him. That love and adoration in his voice was so deep. I wanted to see his face. The sound itself was melodic. I heard another cry. My sibling. My twin. I was moved to another place and I heard her. My mother's voice was tired and soft as she said something. Whoever held me was carrying me away now.

But then I was ripped away by cold hands. Something even colder and hard was pressed against my. I could feel myself trembling in fear. My heart started beating wildly in my chest, filling my ears. Whatever was wrapped around me previously was thrown off, followed a loud boom, heat, then cold air.

I was useless. I was vulnerable. Helpless in my inability to move on my own. A body was placed beside me. My sibling. He was quiet and sound asleep. I had a feeling it was a boy. With the small comfort of being close to him, I cried myself to sleep. It was some time later that I was awoken by loud crying and so much noise. He was sad. It didn't feel right. I started crying as well. Something is in the air around us.

There was a wave of something dark, something evil directed at me and my sibling. An intent to kill us both. It burned me. It burns and felt like acid in my stomach. It stopped suddenly. There was also the smell of blood. Mom and dad were talking but they both sounded so weak.

Then that energy in the air began to subside, the burning continued but not as bad as it must have been for my twin. He was screaming his head off like he was shoved inside a boiler.

And then nothing.

All was quiet.

All was still.

It was when I could see that I realized exactly what happened. I woke up in my crib with clearer vision and took one look at my twin to see a blonde, whiskered, tan boy. I was a devoted fan to a certain anime series so there was no way I wouldn't recognize him.

Naruto Uzumaki.

* * *

(Five years later)

I grumble as loud buzzing fills the room. I get up and look beside me to see my brother. The breakfast bell would normally excite a kid. Not for us though. The fucking hags are just as cold as the rest of the civilians outside and feed us very small portions.

Shaking him awake, I climb out of bed to get ready for another horrible day. Life was the opposite from what I had before. A big family to none but one. Well off in life to poor and broke. I should be happy that I only ended up with a piece of chakra instead of Kurama himself and all his world loathing bullshit.

However… my appearance was affected greatly. I looked like a fox. Vibrant cherry red hair with even darker blood red tips that won't go away even when I cut it. I call bullshit on that anime logic. My pupils were feline-like which creeped out a lot of civilians and even shinobi. My teeth had long sharpened canines on the upper row. Naru is lucky to just have the whiskers.

I took most of my physical traits after mom. I had her eye shape and pale skin. But my eyes were just as blue as my brother's and my face had a narrowness that dad had.

I pull on black shorts and over that is a purple kimono styled blouse with sleeves going past my wrists. There was a cut on my upper arms just past my shoulders for air. It looked more like a short dress with my height. It was bound together by off-white bandage wraps. The same kind I wrap from my mid shin to my ankles. I liked my style.

As a fan of the series I naturally drew ninja outfit designs of my own. I look back at the bed and sigh. "Naru-chan. Get up. Teuchi-san has breakfast for us and it's getting cold." He grumbles into his pillow. I lean close to his ear and whisper, "The ghost is hiding under your bed."

"AH!" He jumps up and looks around. Not seeing a ghost, he glares at me. "Not funny dattebayo!"

"Get dressed yeah?"

"Fiiiine" I go ahead and open the window and grab my ratty leather satchel I found in a dumpster a while back. It was great to carry stolen food. Jumping out, I land on the street outside. This early in the morning only had shopkeepers getting out of their homes. Naruto lands beside me.

We make our way to Ichiraku by going through backroads. I listen fondly to my brother rave about plans to prank some of the mean owners that bully us in the stores. "I'm going to paint all the windows till nobody can see into them, dattebayo!"

I laugh and ruffle his soft spiky hair. "Maybe after we get into the academy, you can prank ninja yeah? Can't be hokage if you can't trick the best shinobi yeah?"

Naru grins wider at me and I feel the warmth he makes bloom in my chest. One I know very well. It's the love I felt when holding my baby brother for the first time to feed him a bottle. It's unique to older siblings. You just take one look and you want to protect that smile forever. I notice us approaching the ramen shop. The blonde took off ahead of me at the speed that could rival a food motivated Akamichi.

"Naru-chan! Wait up yeah?"

"Where's your sister?"

I walk in and climb up onto a stool. "I'm here Teuchi-san."

Ayame isn't working at this time. If I get the math right, she's only ten and will be at civilian school right now. I always viewed her as a favorite minor character. Even more now since she and her father are probably the only civilians that see Naruto and, by extension, me as people. As children. My bet is on the man knowing Minato and Kushina personally. He didn't turn him away.

I smile and order a small bowl while Naruto went with the large one. I never had much of an apatite when it came to breakfast. Ramen with shrimp was actually pretty good. It became my regular. After finishing my food, I lean close to Naruto. "I'll meet you at the spot later yeah?"

"Yeah!"

I scowl at him for saying my verbal tic as a response but shake it off and kissed his forehead. There was something from the crafting shop I wanted and I'd rather not have the owner glaring at my brother while I get it. I blink at the tingling feeling I have on my back and turn my head just enough to see a masked figure in my peripheral vision. I look up at the sky to not give away that I saw them. It was kind of creepy to have anbu on your tail all hours of the day but I understood that I was vulnerable at this age.

From what I saw, it was a tiger mask. The only anbu operative assigned to me while Naruto had more. Bakashi being one of them. Was Yugao? Not sure. I have no other names aside from Tenzo. Shaking my thoughts and musings away, I start walking down the street.

It takes effort to not glare at the civilians. Never was the type to keep emotions in but I can at least be polite when speaking. Like an ex. Just smile and nod while secretly wanting to snap his neck. When I get to the store, I shuffle to the art supplies. I'll buy enough sketchbooks and pencils to hopefully last me a long time so I won't have to come back too soon. I grab five and make my way to the counter. Unsurprisingly, I was met with a suspicious look. So I did what I always do. Stares at him blankly.

"T-twenty ryo." The bastard stutters out and I drop the cash in front of him. Leave the change, take the cannoli. The inner reference makes me snicker out loud. Probably not putting the man at ease in any way. Don't care. I put my new belonging into my bag and leave. On my way out I ran nose first into something hard. Looking up I see the face of an academy age kid.

"Hey! Watch where you- oh. It's the demon girl. Guys check this out!" He wore a brown beanie and black jacket over his generic appearance. Brown hair and dark eyes.

The other two boys that come over are just as boring so I won't bother describing. I take a step back look around. Some adults are watching. Doing nothing…. Baring my teeth, I growl at him. "Gross. She acts like a dog!"

"You even human Oni-chan?"

"Your eyes are creepy."

I am not going to put up with this. I grab my satchel strap and glare. "Back off yeah!"

"Or what. Gonna tell you parents."

My body tenses up on its own while I could feel the hairs in my neck stand like bristling fur.

"Oh I see… you don't have any!"

Tears roll down my cheeks before I could stop them and I rub at my eyes furiously. I shake myself out of my daze and start running. I can hear them chasing me. They're so close and I can't outrun them with my frail body and short legs. Combined with the heavy weight of my bag, I won't get far. I duck into a familiar alley and see the gap in the boards and quickly get down to crawl through. A hand grabs my ankle but I scratch it with my claws. "Ouch!"

I run faster, hoping to put more distance between us. I turn a sharp corner out onto the road and slam right into something…. again. I'll probably break my nose if this keeps up. Two hands grab my shoulders and I immediately lash out. Digging my nails into one of the arms and biting down into the flesh, canines piercing the cloth. I hear a hiss of pain but no scream. Pain tolerance meant… oh god. I just bit a shinobi. I'm about to look up at my victim but they pull me close to their chest and I can hear the bullies approach.

"Hold on." A gentle voice says before strong wind whips around us while the noise of the village streets are drowned out. This must be a shunshin. I've never been transported with that before. It felt like flying! When it stopped, I was a little disappointed. I look up to see a teenager. Black hair curly and unkempt, pale skin, somewhat broad nose, and pretty eyes with long lashes. He's handsome and vaguely familiar. Everyone was real and unanimated here so it was a little hard to translate what I remember to what they could look like now.

Red catches my eye and I look down at his arm. The bite on his forearm was deep and gushing blood. Guilt gripped at my chest and I look up at him. "I-I'm so sorry!"

The boy laughs and ruffles my tangled hair. "Hey. A girl should always use the weapons she's given for defense." He closes one onyx eye in a wink. "What's your name spitfire?"

"Uzumaki Yona."

"I'm Shisui." My eyes widen in realization and he noticed. "You know me?"

I nod quickly. "You're in the tiny book! One of the fastest ninja of Konoha!"

"And how did you get one of those?"

"Err…. stole it?" Yeah. More like researched heavily on narutopedia. He crosses his arms but then winces.

"I'll need to go to Miko-chan. Want to tag along? Those bullies might be nearby still."

I highly doubt that's true but I shrugged. What's a kid supposed to do but be very trusting? Not that I care about acting the part to the best of my abilities. It's like pulling teeth dumbing things down when I talk already. I'm lifted up and placed on Shisui's shoulders. I grapple onto his hair so I won't fall off.

Just like that, we were flying again. Bubbling laughter rises in my chest and I screw my eyes shut tight against the wind. When it all stopped, I open them to see a very familiar fan emblem on the walls of the stone fence. A mansion probably lies past it. The Uchiha complex was a place I never expected to be visiting at any point in this lifetime. Given how the council believes in Danzo's lies, any uchiha that was close to Kushina and Minato were not allowed near us.

Speaking of, I'm starting to realize who Shisui meant by 'Miko-chan'. He sets me on the porch before waltzing into the building. "Mi-chan! You home?" A gentle voice calls from down the hall. I follow Shisui cautiously, my guard up all the way in this new environment. How expensive is a small compound?

Now that I'm thinking on it, did me and Naruto have a house left to us at all? That's something I will need to confront the Hokage about. Naruto won't live in a dingy apartment forever if I have a say about it. "Shisui! What did you do? Get into a fight with dog? Or was it Tora?" Came the voice of a mother. Mother's always have a certain tone about them which is naturally comforting.

"Um well actually… Yona. No need to hide."

I stepped into the kitchen, looking down. I didn't want to see a glare from the Uchiha woman after being recognized. Or worse, the sadness at looking at a reminder. "Y-yona? Uzumaki Yona?"

"Hai."

Suddenly arms wrap around me in an embrace and I freeze. My brain stutters to a stop. She pulls back with tears in her onyx eyes making them sparkle like obsidian pools. "I'm Mikoto. It is so nice to finally meet you!"

"Uh." Yes. How very eloquent of me.

"Oh. Sorry. I got carried away. It's just, you look so much like a friend of mine."

Yeah but a hug like that expressed something else. "Uh…" I shake my head and grin. "It's fine. Just not used to hugs from anyone but my brother."

A gasp sounded behind me and I look to see Shisui with an exaggerated shocked expression. "No hugs? That is unacceptable!" He picks me up in his arms and I'm left to dangle in his strong but actually very comfortable grip. "I am now assigned as your designated hug giver." He grins down at me and I couldn't help but do the same. I always wondered how nice he was. I saw that he was playful with Sasuke and Itachi but I'm not an Uchiha.

"You're going to reopen the wound." I could already smell the blood.

Mikoto took a first aid kit out from under the sink and gestured for him to take a seat. "So how does this have anything to do with you Yona-chan?"

"I bit him. I didn't see who it was till after though. I uh…. Have sharp teeth." She glances lower and I purse my lips. "They scare people."

The Uchiha lady frowned at that and looked thoughtful as she wrapped Shisui's arm. "A shame. You look like such a lovely girl. Well I'm not mad at you for defending yourself from a stranger so don't worry about this. Now that I'm done, you run along home."

"Yes ma'am." He gave a big salute before ruffling my hair. "See you around Yo-chan!"

I stared at the window he jumps through long after he vanished. "I thought your clansmen were strict and serious."

Mikoto chuckles, packing away her materials. "To most outside I suppose. Shisui is very open however. His father as well. They were very cheerful. On the topic… Do you know anything about your parents?"

Yes. "No."

"I see. I know it is a rule to not say anything. But."

"You know my mom, don't you yeah?" My tic was coming out the more I relaxed.

"Yes…" She sighs. "Perhaps you should go to the hokage. I wouldn't want to break the rules."

"Don't worry. I have a pretty good guess on who she is yeah."

Mikoto kneels at the short table and smiles. "Oh?"

"I uh. Stole a bingo book and it's an old copy. Has war heroes in it. Only one person in Konoha has red hair yeah? However, my weird eyes, teeth, and nails come are shown on nobody else except Inuzuka members."

It was silent. Did I say too much? "Aren't you a smart girl!" She praises sincerely. "And only five. You also speak well for your age. Are you going into the academy?" Whoops. I forgot to dumb it down.

"Mhm. Naru-chan wants to be Hokage and I'll be his right hand gal all the way yeah!"

"I have no doubt you will excel in your classes. You might be in the same one as Sasuke, my youngest. He is the same age as you two."

The entrance door down the hall sides open and closes. The pitter patter of running feet approaches quickly before the tiny version of Sasuke runs in. "Okaa-san! There is a strange boy outside." He looks at me and stares. Not at me though. At my hair. "Tomato?"

Before I could respond to that, I hear shouting. "Aneue!" That would be Naruto. I walk past the Uchiha and out into the front yard. I'm tackled back inside by a golden ball of sunshine. "Where were you dattebayo?! You didn't come back! I went looking and then this guy showed up and told me to come here and then, then, -"

I cover his mouth before he continues the rant. My god does this boy have lungs. "I'm okay Naru-chan. I had to run from bullies again and someone saved me. I met a nice lady though! Wanna meet 'er?"

"In there?" I nod. Patting his head, he releases me so I could stand before holding onto my sleeve. He was nervous about going deeper into the house. Looking over my shoulder, I saw a few more Uchiha staring at us from beyond the gate. Leading Naruto into the kitchen, I glance at Sasuke who was chomping away at a tomato.

Maybe he wasn't talking about my hair and was looking over me to his mom and asking her for the veggie. Mikoto smiles at Naruto, looking misty eyed again. This woman was such a sweetheart. No wonder Kushina liked her. "Would you two like to stay for lunch?"

Was it that time already? Huh. "If it's okay.""

"Of course it is. I need to go fetch the ingredients so you three get along okay?"

"Hai!" Came the reply from Sasuke after he swallows the last of his snack.

Now alone with the raven haired boy with no signs of being that angsty preteen I was used to, I was at a loss. I can talk to adults just fine but to a kid? I don't exactly remember how that works. Thankfully I didn't have to be the first to speak. My wonderful brother did that for me.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! And this is my Aneue Yona."

"We're twins believe it or not."

"Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke." Oh fuck me. He does that at this age too? It wasn't being cool and shit?

My hair stands on end with the feeling of being watched. Turning around, I see nine year old Itachi standing in the doorway. Young, no anbu gear in sight, and unaware of his fate in the future. This is the pacifist I came to cry for after his death. That was the biggest surprise I had in any anime. You watch all of the first season and hate him until the truth is revealed. If your heart doesn't ache for him, then you have no soul.

New mission: Save him.

* * *

A/N Retrying a hand at reincarnation in a timeline that has more to work with. Hopefully this one works out so much better.


	2. Things that change

"Sasu-kun, Tachi-san, Naru-chan, and me!" I state proudly while holding up my scribbly colorful artwork. It was kind of annoying to revert my skills to an appropriate level for a kid my age but necessary. I went to art school. For crying out loud!

Naruto grinned as he doodled his own picture while fighting over the red crayon with our new friend. Itachi was watching us from his perch in a tree where the porch we occupied was completely visible to him. I made an effort not to glance up. "Sasuke is a duck dattebayo!"

"Am not!"

"How does your hair floof though?"

"That's not a word."

"It is to me yeah!"

Naru throws down his supplies and flops onto his back. "I'm bored."

"Hi bored, I'm Yona." I snicker when he scowls at me because when he does, it's just too cute. I ruffle his hair before standing. "Hide and boom!"

Sasuke looks up at me with a confused expression. "What's that game?"

"Hide and seek but with explosives. It's fun because you have to keep moving. Tags are placed everywhere and if you stay in a spot too long, it explodes." I explain while digging out some dud tags. "Tachi!" I yell.

The boy lands beside me and I hold out the tags. "Come play yeah? I need you to hide these in all the hiding spots you can find."

He looks at the papers blankly. I'm curious about the many subtle changes within an Uchiha's expression. I'll come up with names for them if I get any good at reading them. "Are these safe Yona-chan?"

"Mhm. No real fire. Just smoke and noise. Fun yeah?" Itachi nods and starts going around the yard while I shuffle the two boys inside. "Okay. I'll be it and count after Tachi-san is done prepping." When he comes in, he nods to me again. So quiet. He better have fun too. I cover my eyes. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten!"

I run out and already see old smoke above a bush. Running over, I look inside and see no one. A pop comes from behind the tree and little Sasuke darts out, covered in black powder on one side. "I see you!"

"No you don't!" I chase him around, igniting a few tags when we step on them. With a shout, I tackle the cockatoo to the ground. "Awe man…"

"C'mon. Let's get Naru-chan!"

We search and find Itachi crouched on the roof after looking up for a change. There weren't any tags there. Cheater. Naruto still alluded us even as the sun was starting to set. Worry built up inside to the point I didn't care about avoiding the tags or that there was so much black on me, I could be Kuro-Zetsu.

I ran into the front courtyard and hurried to the door, only to run nose first into a hard sturdy form. This is the third time! I'm grabbed by the back of my shirt and lifted like a puppy. The moment I see who this was, I gawk.

Ever seen your life flash before your eyes? Well I have but that's not the point. Standing in front of me is Mr. Stoneface himself, the sacrifice of his children's happiness, one of the only unattractive Uchiha I remember seeing as a main character. Uchiha Fugaku. I don't know his opinion on me or, more specifically, Naruto. They hated, hate, the village but I don't remember seeing anything about them shunning my brother.

And then there is the issue on what he thought of my mother. I hold a very strong resemblance to her after all. Did he interact with her because of Mikoto's friendship with Kushina? All these unknowns pile up and I just had no clue how I was supposed to respond. So did the only thing I could do.

I slapped a tag onto his forehead and running the second he dropped me. My pace sped up the second I heard the pop. I heard him growl. Not grumble, not 'hn', a fucking growl! Oh shit! Now there goes my second life playing out. Nah just kidding. It's my photographic memory playing a Naruto tribute AMV from youtube. Ah how I miss entertainment.

Shaking that distraction out of my head, I slide under the porch right after rounding the corner. "Ow! Aneue, you kicked me dattebayo!"

…

…

…

 _That little shit._

I whip my head around to see my sunshine _blessing_ of a brother rubbing his forehead. He was down here the whole time! I would be scolding him about how worried he made me if it wasn't for the angry man stalking around the premises.

When I don't hear stomping, I crawl out with Naru and look around. Sadly my relief was short lived as both of us were lifted. Ah, right. Sharingan see chakra. Forgot about that. "Another one?" He looks at him and recognition flickers across his face just as Mikoto steps out. "Lunch is ready. Oh hello dear. I see you've met Sasuke's new friends." She was all too happy to say. I like her.

The woman was very pretty, probably modal worthy in my old word. So is Ino. How she looked in the naruto movie as a adult and with her hair down was sexy as hell. Give her a tail and a tank of water and she could be the perfect mermaid…. I'm getting distracted. I just envy pretty people and now even more so with these characters because they aren't cartoons. The look real.

I am still questioning the logic of things though. Like spiky hair sticking up as well as it did. No hairspray required. I should just chalk it up to magi- I mean, chakra. My attention is grabbed when Itachi comes into view. First he looks at me so I wave. Then he sees the state of his father's face and his pretty onyx eyes widen in shock. "Tou-sama." He manages to greet.

Fugaku puts us down and we hurry inside to the kitchen and kneel and sit at the table. We take one side together to leave space for the adults. Sasuke came in a minute later and then Itachi who did the same thing we did. "You found him?"

"He was under the house! Hey, where did you go?"

"Was training."

"Oh?

"I'm already in the academy!" He sticks his chin up and practically beams with snooty pride. Mikoto sits down and looks at me.

"Are you two in school yet?"

Naruto jumps in. "Nope! But Oji-san says that we will next year. I want to be hokage!"

"What about you Yona-chan? Do you have a dream?"

Uh… No? Live as long as possible? Be Naru's right hand man? "I haven't found it yet… I be something, just don't know yet." I look down at the food before us and my mouth starts to water. Salted rice, smoked salmon, and what looked like breaded veggies. The meal got the same reaction out of my brother too.

Can you blame us? We haven't had any good meals aside from ramen. It's all been dry bread and cafeteria gunk. I dug in immediately. Have I ever mentioned that I love seafood? No? Well I'll say this now. I. Love. Seafood. Steamed crab, salmon no matter how it's cooked, shrimp, lobster, tuna, crab sushi, crab dip, clam, squid. I can go on and on. Even sea urchin is on the list!

Picking up my chopsticks, I take a piece out of the fish and sniff it. The spices were perfect. Garlic, lemon, salt, and soy sauce.

"That is quite the nose you have Yona-chan! I'm impressed."

Did I say that aloud? Whoopsie daisy. "Th-thanks?" I avoid the looks of all four Uchiha's who I can _feel_ the stares of.

"Aneue can smell a lot of things! At the orphanage she hit a bowl out of my hand saying that it didn't smell right!"

Fugaku was the one who spoke next. "And what was wrong with it?" Was that genuine curiosity? Hope so. Any good thing will save me from a life of being public child menace number one for the clan leader.

"Needles in the curry. I smelt metal and there isn't supposed to be any in food."

It got silent after that. Mikoto, when I did look up, had this dangerous aura rising out. Nothing worse than the wrath of a woman scorned they say. She looked ready to kill. "I… I can not believe they tried- were so careless to accidentally put such objects in food. That could have been fatal!" Oh wow. She is loosing her shit… I glance at her husband to see he was looking very anxious. Itachi had a mixture of shock and disgust. The latter for what I just said.

She gets up suddenly, not touching her food at all. "I will be back later."

"Oka-san?" Itachi questions.

"I'm scheduling a meeting with the hokage. I will not have Ku-" _Kushina's_ "-these kids live in a hostile environment." Without another word, she leaves the room. Me and Naru have finished our lunch so I stand.

"Thank you for having us but we should really get going. May… may we come back sometime Uchiha-sama?" I look to Fugaku, using a more formal pattern of speech. It certainly got his attention. It confused Naruto earlier on until he realized it was when I talk to adults. I like to say it's me having the ability to adapt.

With Mikoto I forgot simply because I tried to seem like a normal kid with at least one adult. But the habit already was set in place. I grab Naruto and head out. With it being the start of November (me and Naru only just turned five), there was a chill in the air. I know for a fact that the land of fire has snow. Not as often as more northern lands but still. It's something I almost forgot about in the Naruto movie: The Last.

In the series itself, it never once showed snow. I need to find some clothes suitable for winter. The last thing I want is to get sick. But today might not be a good time. So I start making my way through the village to one of the training grounds. After our birthday, I decided to take the initiative on exorcising. I start with running around the field as a warm up before dancing. I learned from my past life that dancing helps with developing a sense of rhythm and flexibility.

I got Naruto into the practice too. His job was to attack me while mine was to dodge and try to predict before he swings. Of course he was sloppy without any primary training. "Yona-nee… I'm tired."

"Alright, alright. We will do something else." I grab a leaf off the ground and smack it onto his forehead. "Keep that there."

"But how?" He crosses his eyes to watch it flutter down.

I pull out a library book and flip to the page about chakra exercises. Both of us know how to read. I took a course in Japanese literature and language in college and I took that knowledge to help my brother. I assumed it was the lack of the basics in childhood that stunted him academically. As his loyal sibling, it was my duty to give him every chance at equal opportunity. "You focus on the spot where the leaf is. Try picturing what it looks like."

He grumbles as I pick the leaf back up and press it to his face again. "Okay I think I have it." So I let go and the leaf actually sticks. But then it blows away. "Aw man…"

"That's okay. We'll just keep trying." While Naruto continued his exercise, I went to the trees. A figure moved into the shadows when I scanned the area and decided to look this time. "Oi! Stop stalking my otouto and me!"

Silence….

Crossing my arms, I huff and sit down to stare at the area they were. Unless they shunshin away. Then a tiger masked man stepped out on a branch. "You got me." He drawled with his arms up in surrender. I grin and turn to the tree behind me and grapple onto the rough bark. I struggle a bit to climb the tall tree since it kept biting into my skin.

I decide to try something new. I focus on the palms of my hands. Using chakra is nice. It has the warm feeling like snuggling up with a puppy. When the feeling built up in my hands, I started to imagine wearing gloves made of the faint blue glow.

Grabbing the tree again, I start to climb and it actually worked! Oops, lost concentration. I land back on the ground with a thud. "Damn it!"

"Why are you two training anyway?" Tora (which should be his alias) asks while picking me up and placing me back on my feet. "You're not even in school yet."

"I want to be ready!"

He chuckles and pats my head. "Well I can't say anything against that logic. Looks like your brother wants you."

I turn my head to see Naruto looking around. With a farewell, I leave Tora in the woods and run over to tackle Naru in a hug. "I'm here!"

"We need to go home before the angry ladies get mad."

Oh. It was late already?

"Race you!" I shout before shoving him down and making a run for it.

* * *

The rest of the year was passing with a new routine after that day. I bought the winter clothes thanks to the Hokage and now I won't worry about my little bro getting ill on me. Our daily activities involved eating our ramen breakfast as usual, then visit Sasuke and Itachi for fun games before lunch, practice chakra usage and exercise in the training grounds, and finally return home.

I made a habit to help Mikoto with grocery shopping for ingredients. Had to do something to repay her kindness after all. Apparently she likes getting fresh food everyday. Or maybe it's an excuse to walk around and talk to everyone. At first the stares were uncomfortable but as I kept at it, the people eventually accepted my presence as an everyday occurrence.

That is when I brought Naruto out to play in the streets with Sasuke. Itachi usually ends up being a chaperone to keep us out of trouble. Let me just say, starting a hide-and-boom game with more than one fire nature kid is one hell of a way to have fun. Shisui also joined in. He usually was on my team and that's great because he's OP. Having a tall (and I mean tall) teenager on your side is super awesome.

One game of four became six and then it grew from there into something like a neighborhood/district thing. So many Uchiha kids liked the idea of playing with fire. Freaking pyros. But who am I to talk? Explosions are fun!

December came around and it was a miserable time at the orphanage. The building does nothing to keep heat in. I was pleasantly surprised when Tora dropped by to get me and Naruto along with another ANBU with a dog mask. Ryōken. I know that's you Kakashi.

They carried us to the Hokage tower. Do not be fooled by that face, kind ol' grandpa isn't this old for nothing. Shinobi rarely get that old. I'm set down and I stare up at him. "What do you want Oji-san?"

He smiles warmly and kneels to our level. He looks me in the eyes and I give a grin. He was one of the very few to not be uncomfortable with meeting my gaze. Maybe because he was used to Orochimaru's similar optics. "I think it's time that you two have a place of your own." He hold his hand out and a third anbu hands him a box before e holds it out to us. "This is a map and key. It won't seem like much but hopefully it will feel like home soon."

I let Naruto take them. "Wow! Thanks Jiji!" He hugs the old man before running out the door. Ryōken follows. I, however, stay put with Tora.

"Is there something you needed Yona-chan?"

To play dumb or not to play dumb….

Screw it.

"I was wondering…. About our parents." I glance at the hokage portraits.

Seeing what I looked at, he sighed and went to sit at his desk. I follow and crawl into his lap. "You know who they are?"

I give a hesitant nod. "In a little book with people's faces I saw a lady with red hair. She didn't have my eyes so I looked for someone that had yellow hair like Naru-chan." I point at Minato's picture. "He doesn't have my weird looks though… But… Are they our parents?"

Hiruzen closed his eyes and chewed at the end of his pipe. "Very good deduction. You are correct. I sense there is something else?"

"Did… did they leave us anything? Uzumaki is a clan name in the history books right? Is there a mansion like Sasu-kun's house?" I was filled with a childish excitement because I truly wanted to know!

He chuckles at my barrage of questions and positions me to look at him. "Well, the Uzumaki are hardly a clan anymore. No leader or compound. However, your mother did have a property given to her by one of the sannin."

An idea pops into my mind. One that can grant me some level of safety for Naruto and myself. If that key opens a small apartment, then i'll definately want this house instead. "Can I be clan head! If nobody has that, then I want it!"

The surprise on his face just made me grin wider. "Well… perhaps when you're older. You need to learn a lot of things."

"I can do it yeah! I'll study really hard, and be as polite as Mikoto-san."

"Good girl. Tell your brother that you two will be starting the Academy next month." I hug him around the neck tightly and kiss his forehead before jumping onto Tora. He holds me after I climb up to his chest. He chuckles while bowing to Hiruzen and leaves.

Well Mikoto, looks like I have a dream for the future.

* * *

Me and Naruto spent the rest of December customizing our little home. It's the same apartment shown in the anime. We put in a double bed and one dresser to share. We always shared a bed and we were both not ready to give up our cuddle time. I had an extra room where I started sticking my drawing onto the wall. The good ones, not my fake scribbles.

As promised, we started the Academy come January. I was nervous and tried my best to comb out the tangles in my hair and flatten out any wrinkles in my new green kimono shirt. Shoes were a new addition because it's not very good to show up with dirty feet. The pair of black sandals were designed like the shinobi ones, minus the extra thick padding.

A knock at the door sounded while I was fixing the bentos. "Get that please!" I hear the loud reply and see a yellow streak go by with the thumping of feet. "Who is it?!"

"Jiji!"

Time to go then. I pack up the food and shove them into my bag before meeting Hiruzen at the door. We both take one of his hands and make the kinda long walk to the academy. The cold was already gone. It never lasts long anyway which is a plus about the land of fire. When the building comes into view, I take a moment to look at the swing. The one swing where Naruto might spend his free time. The one that seems to stand no matter what hits the village.

Then the scents hit my sensitive nose and I cover it to try to muffle all of them. "Are you alright Yona-chan?"

"I smell a lot of things. Dogs mostly."

"That must be the Inuzuka you are smelling."

"Hm…" I start fidgeting with my satchel strap as we get closer to the classroom. "Do we go in alone?"

"Yes. You two will do fine. I believe in you." He pats my head and Naruto's back. With a deep breath, I slide the door open. My arm and hand entwines with my brother's before stepping into the classroom. Iruka was there and I look him over.

I was sure that Naruto had other teachers before him. Looks like I found a deviation. Suddenly I'm very aware of the stares we are getting. It must be the hair. We were very bright compared to the rest of the kids. I recognize the main characters and… Holy shit! Kiba is adorable! No hoodie, just the spiky brown hair and cute red fang tattoos. Or are they birthmarks? I already concluded that bullshit anime logic was very real here.

My attention is brought back by a nervous Iruka who then starts sweating when he locks eyes with me. Oh yeah. He doesn't like us. "Um. Why don't you two introduce yourselves to the class?"

Naruto doesn't let go of me but he does shift to be in front. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto dattebayo, your next hokage!"

I giggle and straighten my back, bowing at the waist. When I stand, I put on my best fanged smile. "Uzumaki Yona. I'm going to be clan head and otouto's right hand!" I state confidently. We give the room mirroring thumbs up at the end. Ah, the fun of being a twin.

"Very nice. Now take a seat." Ouch. It kinda stung to see him so distant and uninterested. I look around and see a certain little Uchiha waving. It was subdued and not the excited flailing he does in his home. Gotta act cool and all. Grabbing Naruto, I pull him over.

"Hey. Looks like we're in the same class!" Uh oh. I sense angry girls. Guess it doesn't help that I'm sitting beside him. But I'm also beside Naru.

I take a little notebook out of my bag and my pen with a cat head on the end to start writing notes. I may have sucked at studying before, but ninja school is different. I'm going to learn the small things that shinobi know to be as good as they are. It has me as interested as I was in animal behaviors in college.

* * *

The class progresses and I pick up the pattern. Theory of chakra and anything chakra related, history, math, lunch, basic strategy and styles of fighting. All the bases for later in the future. After all that, the girls are asked to stay. Kunoichi classes are then held every other day after regular school hours.

I grip onto the hem of Naruto's t-shirt. "I don't want to go. I don't know anyone here except you two."

He grins and hugs me tight. "You can do it dattebayo! I'll be waiting for you at home."

With a sigh, I let go and watch out the window as he walks home with Sasuke and Itachi. I turn to see girls already forming little groups and getting to know each other or sticking with the friends they already have. Slinking to the back corner, I sit down and wait for the teacher.

A woman walks in minutes later. She had short hair tied up and clipped. She walked in with an elegance worthy of a noble's tutor. "My name is Ayumiko. I'll your teacher for Kunoichi classes. We will start of simple. Read this list of flowers grown locally and after finding one you like based on meaning, we will go outside. You will then find that flower."

She walks around to hand out the papers and when she gets to me, I look down and nod my thanks. God I feel as shy as I was in highschool when it came to unfamiliar adults. They're more complex when I need to gage their personality. She stares at me, I can feel it and then… nothing. I feel my whole body relax when she didn't scoff or make a sound of contempt.

I read the list a few times before selecting the peony. Romance, prosperity, good fortune, a happy marriage, riches, honor, and compassion and also bashfulness. Things I hoped for in the past and things I know Naruto will have in the future. If it stays cannon. I want to make sure he's happy but not twist the story too much.

As the class is lead to a field with flowers green, the girls start scattering to find their respective blooms. I find the ball shaped pink flowers rather easily and pick a few. Since there was spare time, I started to weave a chain. After a long enough one was made, I connected the ends to make a crown.

"Wow! That's really pretty." I jump and look up to see the child Ino and a roughed up pinkette that can only be Sakura. They were looking down at my little creation. "How did you make it?"

"Just uh.. It's… I'll show you, if you want yeah?"

They nod their heads quickly and sit down to pick their flowers. I show them how to make the links with the stems and grass around them. Once they both had a crown, I placed mine on my head. "Tada! I, Lady Yona, will build a compound with everything me and my brother could possibly want yeah!"

Ino puts her crown on too just as the teacher calls. The Yamanaka girl helps up Sakura and I can't help but smile at their friendship. It's too bad they were torn apart over a boy. I sling my bag over my shoulder and start walking. They could make good friends. I know they will in the future but right now friendship isn't my main objective.

Sasuke was just lucky to meet me earlier. The class goes back to the academy and the parents are all there to pick them up. I fall back to watch my two kunoichi classmates hurry to their moms and dads. I get that feeling I believe Naruto gets when he saw the same happen in the playground. That's probably where he is right now. I feel bad for not being there to help him not feel lonely.

Sakura points in my direction and waves so I wave back. Her mother frowns and dips down to say something into her ear before hurrying away. A pain I wasn't expecting squeezes my heart. I saw it coming though. Her parents are shinobi and very aware of my brother's status.

"Yona-chan!" I look over to see Ino waving me over. That, wasn't something I was expecting either. All I could do was stare as the blonde pulled over a rather intimidating and well known shinobi. Inoichi. Why is he scary? He's scary because interrogation specialists are no joke. They know all the tells to a lie. "This is my dad. He liked the flower crown and I told him you made it!"

Inoichi looks down at me and I stare right back, wondering if I could creep him out. Instead, he smiles kindly. "Hello there."

I bare my fangs in a grin and bow respectfully. "Yamanaka-sama."

"No need for that. He takes my little hands into one of his larger ones and turns them to face palm up. "Deft hands like yours show promise. Is there any skills you want to learn?"

"Fuinjutsu and… I want to learn how to use different types of weapons and not just the standard."

"Oh? And which ones do you like?"

"Long spear, wire, and bow and arrow."

"An interesting combination." He stands and looks to the side. I follow his gaze to see Tora standing there. "Anbu-san."

The masked man nodded back the greeting before holding his hand out to me. I skip over and climb up his side until I was at a spot he could wrap his arm around me. His mask was pushed up slightly , allowing me to see the senbon he was chewing on. I watch while we fly over the rooftops bathed in dusk's light.

"Won't you choke on that and die?" Was the first thing to pop into my head.

He chuckles at me. "Not if I'm careful." So Tora is Genma. Which explains the bandanna on his head and senbon. Only he does that. I giggle into his shoulder, wrapping my arms around him. "What's so funny."

"Oh nothing. Kukuku. I know who you are now though."

Genma huffs but I can see his smirk. Resting my head on him, I close my eyes. I didn't realize how tired I was until now.

The last thing I heard was "Good night Yona."

My story has been set into motion.


	3. Things that make friends

Mikoto was taking me and Naruto shopping. After a small training session and hidden explosives, our regular outfits were totaled. I already miss my green kimono shirt. The bandages are staying though. I am too much of a klutz to not protect my legs from falling. Tree walking was hell and ended with many, many splinters.

It was march and the small period of winter weather melted into warm rays of sun beating down on us. I wonder if the Uchiha ever get too hot in their black clothes. We are led into a store and I look at the familiar fishnet undershirts hanging in the back. A shinobi attire shop. Sweet.

Currently me and Naru were wearing identical tank tops and shorts. Spares from the orphanage. As if parentless children didn't look pitiful enough. "Find something you like. These clothes are durable so they will last a long time. Choose wisely." No Naru! I will not let you have anything with orange as the base color!

Between me trying to change the future style of my twin and finding something practical for training and other academy activities. I settled for a oversized zip up hoodie I would grow into later. It was dark blue on the sleeves and hood parts and white on the body. I also got a fishnet undershirt with a training bra area that was solid black cloth.

For the sake of modesty, I'll be wearing a green tank over that to stay school appropriate. The third item was the spandex shorts I liked. My bandages usually start where the cloth ends so it will be like wearing pants anyway. Oh, and finally, black, stylish, sandals. Not those gaudy blue ones. Gross. The ones that fit like snug toeless socks with a zipper on the side.

Something caught my eye while mikoto got to buying our new clothes in bulk. You know, incase some jutsu practice went awry in the future. This new cloth is not immune, just durable. "Ne, Mikoto-san. I can wear mine now, yeah?" The hoodie was super comfy when I tried it on.

"Of course Yo-chan. We'll wait for you. I need to purchase Naru-chan's too."

I look at the pile of clothes that had blues and nodded in approval. Going into the changing room, i put on my three layers of uppers. And giggle at how long the hoodie was. It went to mid calf. I'll probably being wearing it like a dress for awhile. Another cool thing was that it hid my gender. Now I look like a boy who needs a haircut. I hop out of the small room with a grin.

But it's gone the moment I see my brother standing there in an all too familiar jumpsuit. That little shit… "Naru, Noooooo."

Mikoto wasn't done with us just yet. She took me aside and brought me to a civilian clothing store. I look at her and tilt me head to silently question her. "I want you to pick out a casual outfit for you wear on free days and such." Naruto was given some of Sasuke's t-shirts without collars so he was all set. I feel like I'm shopping for the school year with mom again. The days I took for granted…

I make my way to the dresses and browse the different designs. Civilian garbs are so simplistic. One catches my eye and I take it off the hook to go try it on. Once I slipped it over my head, I looked at the mirror. It was a two piece. A white puff sleeved shirt under a grass green thick strapped dress that had a pocket sewn to the front. I looked like Kushina.

Feeling a little vindictive to the village elders and Jiji, I step out and place my hands on my hips. "I want this one." Mikoto looked me with surprise before her pretty black eyes started watering. Oh no. Miko don't cry…. shit. "Is it no good?"

"No! It's just. You look so much like your mother." She picked me up in a hug that reminded me she was strong like any shinobi. I hug her head with my much shorter and thinner arms.

After buying the dress in bulk and in bigger sizes for later years and changing back to my new shinobi outfit, we left the shops. It was nice to not be outwardly insulted for once now that the lady of the Uchiha was my guardian/unstated godmother. "Naru!" I call and skip over, flapping my extra long sleeves like the child I am.

"What is it?"

"Want to train?"

"No way! It's a weekend. We're supposed to be relaxing dattebayo." He whined.

"Fine. But I'm going to. Have fun pranking. Oh and we have to say thank you to Mikoto-san."

We both turned to the dark haired woman and bowed in unison. "THANK YOU FOR THE CLOTHES."

* * *

Tora/Genma watched me jog the perimeter of the training ground. Probably to make sure I don't blow myself up yet with trash tags again. I really need start practicing by copying the explosive tag seals. One of the things with Uzumaki is that they usually have mastered seal forging by the time they reach the age of a genin.

I have gotten better at tree climbing. Uzumaki chakra is fantastic for long sessions. I have to burn myself out just to sleep peacefully. I don't know how Naruto does it with the fox combined.

"Tora? Can you throw a senbon to mark where I should aim on the tree?"

"Of course." He slides the needle out of his pouch and throws it. The movement was so quick i was still looking at his hand while it embedded itself into the bark. Taking a glance at the height, I walk backwards before running forward. The warm tingling sensation of chakra travels down my legs to my soles right before I dash up the tree.

I feel myself slip so I reach up to snatch the metal needle before gravity does it's work. Genma catches me before I land on my back. "Good job. You're halfway to the first branch now."

"Why is the tree so giant?!"

"Don't be like that. You are only seven. When you get taller, it won't look too high anymore." He took the weapon from me and threw it a foot higher. So for the next hour I tried to reach the new goal. I wasn't able to before I was starting to feel the strain of losing chakra and Tora called me off on pushing it any more. I could totally go longer but I gotta listen to my guard.

I brush myself off after laying on the ground to catch my breath. I groaned at the protest my muscles scream to my nerves. Okay, ow, that hurt. I pick up my bag that was weighed by one pair each of my new clothes. Mikoto had taken the rest to who knows where. Probably the apartment. I zip up my big jacket and pull the extra length past my hands to act as hand warmers.

Tora ruffles my hair which was a bit longer now. I needed to tie it up or something The bangs are passing my nose and that's just annoying.. I look shaggy like Sakura did before the ribbon thing happened. "You should reward yourself. Get some dango or something." I did have the additional allowance from the Uchiha matriarch. Grinning, I hug the masked man around the legs before heading off. I take a kunai from my bag and hack a few inches from the middle portion of the bangs, leaving the side fringe alone. I'll trim it when it gets too long.

Walking down the street alone is rough. The stares… always the stares. My old life self was plain in appearance but now I'm so strange that staring is all people thought to do. Did Orochimaru go through this? Pasty white skin, snake eyes, and markings on the upper eyes must have been as ill received as my abnormalities were.

Never thought I would sympathize with the snake sannin but there is no denying the likeness. I stop when something catches my eye. There, in a window of a confectionary shop was sparkling candy separated by color in jars. Konpeito. Little rock candy stars that I always wanted to try but never got to ordering any. My eyes were locked on the medium bottle of dark blue, light green, and purple Konpeito. A press my extra long sleeve covered hands up against the glass. I could feel drool gathering just by thinking of eating the sweet sugar.

A hand suddenly grabbed me by the should her shoved me back. I look up to see a civilian woman with her face twisted into a sneer. "Go away you freak. I'm not serving my wares to demon children like you or that trouble maker of a brother. Shoo Oniko!" Goblin child.

My eyes sting as I grit my teeth. I'm not going to cry. Turning on my heal, I move to stomp away but hit something. Again. Kami this was getting annoying. I glare at the person in front of me, too angry to hold my temper. "Watch it!" I growl.

"Hey, I was just standing here. You're the one that turned around without looking." I glance up to see the sharp brown eyes and tanned face of my classmate. Oh no. Oh gosh. I do not want one of the future rookie nine to hate me. Whispers start to reach my ears and I look at all the glaring eyes.

The stares.

Always the stares.

I'm not going to cry.

"Y-y-you're right. S-sorry. Um. Bye." I sprint away, pushing through the gathered crowd of cruel adults that do nothing to help a child. Where's Naruto? I'm never this affected with him. My feet carry me into the forest, the back hills were always a place we both would explore when everyone else was busy. It reminded me of camping trips with my family. I find a tree with a hollow hole on the bottom I could crawl into.

Then it hit. The memories of the loving family I once had, the friendly neighbors that would greet me on the way out to class, my girlfriend who probably mourned my death who I never thought would get her heart broken by me. I love Naru but, his goofy smile reminds me so much of my other little brother. I'm not going to- There was no stopping these tears.

They rolled down my face like waterfalls, the snot drips from my nose. I wave my face on my sleeves and curl my legs up to hug my knees. Might as well let everything out. There was a sound that broke me out of my internal drowning outside the hole. I peek and see narrow hooves walk by.

I don't remember deer ever living here. A sniffle and more tears accompany the new self degradation over getting lost. Should've guessed that something was wrong when I couldn't find the traps. Closing my eyes, I bury my face against my thighs. At least there's privacy.

…

…

...

Something bumps my foot and I look down to see the small bottle of konpeito. "Wuh?" I pick it up and blink at the candy.

"You wanted that one right?"

My head whips around to stare at the Nara crouching in front of the entrance to the little den. Behind him was the ducked head of a buck staring at me. I look back down at the bottle and nod. "H-hai… I'm...I'm sorry!" I turned myself around bowed with my hands on the ground.

There was a shuffling of dirt. "About what?"

"For entering your forest of course. I'm not supposed to be here without permission and I meant to go to the hills but I just wasn't looking and-"

"How do know it's the Nara forest?" I look up to see if he was upset but instead he was just sitting across from me with his legs crossed.

"Well. If I'm to be clan head of the Uzumaki someday, I have to know about the other clans at the basic level."

Shikamaru hummed and crawled out of the tree before holding out a hand to me. "Come on. I'll lead you out. The air here disorients people." I take the offered limb and get dragged out of the hole. My legs wobble at first from being stuck in a bent position for too long.

The Nara boy walks me out of the forest and to the front entrance of his compound. "Which way is your home? It's not safe for a girl to walk alone at this hour." He nods to the star speckled indigo sky. In my free hand, I clutch the bottle.

"It's the apartment with red roofing and oval shaped." He nods, letting go of my had to just walk beside me with his hands in his pockets.

"How come that lady was mean to you?"

"Because of something were there, I shouldn't have to say." I shrug and hop onto the fence lining one side of the street. I balance myself before walking on the thin edge like a tightrope. Learning how to circle chakra in my feet has been useful for many things. Higher jumps, less probability of falling or slipping of an angled roof or any other non-flat surface, and slowly increasing chakra reserves. The last goes for any constant use of Chakra.

Walking with chakra as padding is also a stealth technique called cat-foot. Makes it so you have silent footsteps. I see the apartment up ahead and….uh oh….. Fluffy sunshine incoming. To prevent broken bones, I jumped off the fence just in time before I'm tackled to the ground by crying brother. Shit. I hate when he's sad. I pet his hair as he cries into my chest and soaking the front of my jacket.

He looks up at me after a moment. "Where were you dattebayo! You weren't at any of our special spots and I thought something might have-" I wrap my arms around him and nuzzle his fluffy yellow hair.

"Ssh, ssh. Nee-san didn't mean to worry you Naru-chan. I got lost. Forgive me?" I wipe his eyes and kiss his forehead. He nodded and hugged me tight one more time before getting off my. I rub the tear tracks off of his face with my sleeve and smile once their gone. Much better.

"Who's that dattebayo?"

I'm suddenly reminded that we had company. One who witnessed our little sibling love display. I look at Shikamaru and cough into my fist. "That's our classmate. We've been in school for a week now. You should know everyone's name by now." I smile politely at the Nara boy and bow. "Thank you for walking me home yeah?"

"No problem." He shrugged and went on his way, lazily waving goodbye.

Crouching low with my hands positioned behind me I look to Naruto. "Hop on. I'll take you for a ride yeah."

"Kay!" He jumps onto my back and wraps his limbs around me while I hold up his rear end. Despite being almost the same size as me, I am the stronger one. He really should train with me but he has fun on his own with pranks. It's a little amusing how he knows which shops are Uchiha owned and thus leave them completely unscathed compared to the chaos around them.

* * *

I sit down next to Sasuke and put my bag on the desktop to lay my head on it. "Naru! Stop pranking sensei!"

The Uchiha beside me sighs, shaking his head. "What's the plan this time?"

"A bucket of wate, ripped feather pillow, and lotion covered floors. A recipe for disaster and maybe a hospital visit."

"He won't fall for it."

"Normally yes." My eyes flick up to the dark figure above the rafters. The glow of a sharingan making me smirk. "Shi-kun got it covered."

"Hn."

I take a tomato from my bag and hand it to him. He eyes it a second before allowing a smile to turn the corners of her lips. Hah. Can't be stoic with me parrot boy. I know all of your soft points. "Just sit back and enjoy the show."

A tingle in the back of my senses make me turn around to see Shikamaru looking at me and then up where I had but of course he won't see past the genjutsu now surrounding the room. I hold my two fingers up and mutter 'kai' under my breath. Sasuke does the same as Naru runs over to us. I grab his hand to send chakra into him for a release.

Iruka steps in, innocently unaware, and turns his head to address the class. The string is let go, the bucket falls, feathers rain, and the sensei goes down. Water soaked him to the skin while the feathers stick and cover him the more he struggles to stand.

The genjutsu is cancelled and the class goes silent. Me and my twin burst out laughing, giving high fives and hugging the older Uchiha when he jumps down. "I could use you more often Shi-kun. So useful."

"I'm so happy to see that it's my usefulness that made this friendship strong." He sulks and I giggle at his face. He reminds me of Tamaki from Ouran High School. One small insult and he's a kicked puppy crying in a corner. I jump up to climb and wrap my arms around his neck while hanging on his back.

"Excuse me but… Who are you?" I play with black curls while looking over the teen's shoulder at a man shaped chicken. It was hard to keep from laughing but I managed. Shisui laughs with a sheepish blush. He has a nice smile. I totally had a crush on him while I was a fan. A lot of the Uchihas were ones I would have loved to date if they were real.

Sadly I'm limited to this age. Five years s a bit young to be thinking of relationships at all. "Sorry. I'm just a friend. I'll take my leave." My arms are pried off of his neck before I'm set down to watch him jump out the window and shunshin away. Boo. I wanted him to stay.

Iruka sighed and left the classroom for a few minutes before coming back all clean. "We will begin class now." I take out my notes to add new ones. Sasuke leans over to watch me write while also trying to keep Naruto awake by reaching around me and poking him. English was added to curriculum after the last lesson of intermediate Chakra theory was done.

It would be strange if I suddenly didn't take notes all of a sudden. These were more form my brothers. Sasuke too. Naruto was pretty good at reading after I taught him the basics. Something he might have struggled with in cannon. As Iruka went over the alphabet, I went ahead and copied it down with the japanese counterpart as well as writing out the sound each letter made. After that was finished, I mumbled the words Iruka would write out after he repeats them himself.

Eventually I got bored and laid my head down to take a nap. Sleeping through History and math is what I normally do anyway. I know all of the important events of the past that involved Konoha and bits and pieces that are hardly worth remembering about conflicts with other village. Perhaps in Kakashi's generation I could have been more useful. It was that certain part of the past that everything went to hell and triggered a chain reaction.

My mind spun on possible ways to prevent the massacre, prevent Shisui from dying. The teen was like a big brother to me and Naru. I don't want him to die. Itachi doesn't deserve to be treated as a traitor either. I have my multiple drawings I worked hard on to make them appear clear and detailed enough to be recognisable. Thinking of my art room, I had half of the first wall dedicated to the massacre events, I started to form a plan.

Suddenly a whack to my head woke me and I am found staring up at very peeved sensei. "Ouch. That hurt yeah?"

"Then don't sleep in my class!" He pointed at me and that irked me a bit.

"I'm still learning though. It's not like you're telling me anything new."

"Oh?" Shit. "Prove it then."

I freeze and glance around to see all of my classmates looking at me. What should I do. I look to the board to see the english still written there. Something small. English is supposed to be an advanced shinobi language. I then remember that this Iruka was rude and didn't care about Naruto at all. I've seen how he has ignored the blonde when he was obviously panicking over an assignment.

Channeling that anger, I look the adult straight in the eyes and smirked before saying two words in perfect english. "Fuck. You."

* * *

I sit outside the teacher's office in a chair with my arms crossed. After a thorough scolding, my two favorite boys were sent home to fetch my godmother. Cringing, I listen as the soft padding of flats reached my ears.

The whole time Mikoto spoke with Iruka, I kept my head down. Even when we leave the academy. "Why did you say that? I understand that he wanted you to prove that you already learned something but…"

"Sensei isn't kind to otouto. Naruto needs more help than me at school. He was napping too but Iruka only focused on me. _I_ was the one to teach him to read, _I_ was the one to teach him to write. I read all the history books available in the library so I could have the knowledge needed to help him study! But _no._ How am _I_ more worthy of a lecture and _Naruto_ isn't yeah?!"

"So you aren't upset that you got in trouble?" The matriarch asked gently. She was simply listening to my rant with a sad ad understanding look in her eye.

"Nope. I just. Naruto is my sunshine. My only sunshine while in the orphanage. I keep thinking what would happen If I'm not with him. Would he have died from needles and sharp things in his food, be tricked into eating a poisonous plant, told that he could be friends if he did something dangerous? When he's off pranking, I know he's crafty enough to escape and stay safe. While there are all these physical worries, It's his heart I want to protect the most….. He hurts inside. I feel it too. The stares hurt both of us…."

Mikoto stops and I look up at her. She kneels and wraps her arms around me. My eyes start to sting. "It's okay to cry Yona. You won't cry in front of your otouto because that is a big sibling's job to be strong. But you can let it out with me. So go ahead. Crying is not weakness, you have simply been strong for too long."

So cry I did.

I've been doing that a lot lately.

* * *

Lunch Time. Yay. Please note the heavy sarcasm. Normally I enjoy this time to chat with the boys and help them study but today was a little different. A certain Nara has been staring at me. Not just him too. Kiba was also staring.

Apparently my little show of defiance yesterday got me some attention. Unwanted? I'm not sure yet. I'm still trying to gage the intent of these two male's gazes. Shika might be typical hidden curiosity but Kibsa has never shown interest of any kind till now.

"Oh! Yo-chan." Sasuke pulls me away from analyzing our classmates. "Itachi left the village yesterday."

"Hm?"

"He's taking the exams to become a chunin!"

That means a year from now he will be entered into the anbu. I frown internally Anbu was a occupation that made him become a double agent. Itachi was a people pleaser. He tried to split his obligations to the village and his family equally. Obviously that didn't go well. Another thing has been added to my to-do list.

Suddenly one of the two boys came over…. With a third boy. The teddy bear that is Akamichi Choji. You can probably guess who decided to came talk. I stare up at them with a tilted head. "If you're here to hit on Sasuke, too bad. He's an asexual alien- Ouch!" I'm whacked upside the head. Geeze. Take a joke. I'm still bruised there.

Shikamaru snorts quietly and I almost miss it. "Choji was interested in what you guys had for lunch. He doesn't recognize anything in the bento boxes." He juts a thumb towards the shy chubby boy a little bit behind him.

Naruto leans into my side silently while reading my english notes. I could tell he was becoming nervous with these new faces. With an equally subtle show of comfort, I scoot closer and lean my head to rest it on top of his fluffy spikes. "I made them. It's just something I came up with."

The Akamichi looked down at the red stained noodles with steamy melted white cheese coating the top. "What is it?"

"Momziti!" Actually it was baked ziti but it's what my family always called it since it was a meal only mom knew how to make. Dad could make pizza and awesome french toast though. They both taught me how to cook. And masterchef taught me how to be even better at cooking. "It's pasta. Like ramen but instead of broth, I used tomato sauce and cheese and it isn't like soup." sasuke loved my pasta. His addiction to the red veggie is sometimes concerning. I swear he will get acid burns around his mouth if he continues eating them raw.

"C-can I try some?" I eye the ginger brown haired kid before me as he fidgets left and right on his feet. With a smile, I hold out my box with a spare fork. He happily takes a sample of my cooking and visibly brightens up. "Wow! This is really good! Shikamaru, try it!" He does. He stops after the taste must have registered and blinked a few times.

"Woah." Was all he said.

When the two sit down and start asking about the food and the notes scattered about the center of the circle, I could feel Naruto slowly open up. He even joined in and handed over my English study guide to the two new members of the group. This was completely unintentional but hey. Maybe Naruto will have more friends now.

After lunch and the last classes, I stay back and watch Naruto leave with Sasuke and wave goodbye to our two new friends. It was nice to see Naru so happy. Having someone else other than his god brother and sister to talk to will be good for him.

Now it was time for Kunoichi classes. Flower language and arranging has been covered and now it was music. Singing first. Now… I was in choir in highschool and I never really sung anything since being here or know any japanese songs aside some vocaloid and anime covers. I don't even know what my singing voice sounded like. How I speak is a lot higher as a kid and have know way of knowing if i'll have alto or soprano reach until puberty.

My regular voice was on the low side in the old life. 'Like a calm river and stream. Low and smooth. Rumbling soothingly like a waterfall.' Scarlet was sort of a poet. No brain, Stop! No more reminders. I enter the classroom and is immediately grabbed by my only two female kinda-friends. Sakura had her ribbon now and in turn, she had a major confidence boost.

I look at the instruments lined up against the wall. Five each. I saw a biwa and erhu as the most recognisable to me. I liked them. Biwa sounded similar to a banjo and guitar combination. Erhu had a much prettier sound. It's soft, melodic, and sorrowful in sound. Perfect for me. I know a few songs that he erhu in it.

Most likely there to give us time to pick what we want. A different teacher walked into the room. A woman who….. Oh my god! A female Gin Ichimaru! The silver hair, pale skin, and the constantly closed eyes. Her hair was extremely long and wrapped in a ribbon for two feet in the middle. She looked like she was gliding across the floor in her long two layered kimono. I'm needing a moment. I really long moment.

"Yona!"

Moment denied. "Eh?" I look at Ino and then Sakura. "Sorry. I was shocked. Sensei is really really pretty."

"You got distracted because of that? Really?" Ino tilts her head before giggling. "Not that You're wrong."

"Oh. Sakura! Wit your hair like that, it looks really cute now. Don't grow it out too long though."

"Why not? You are."

"I am but i won't let it hang loose. Once I am a genin, I'll tie it up. Long hair is more likely to get caught on branches but if you're skilled enough, you can work around it. That's why mostly jounin and chunin are seen with hair down."

Ino frowned. "What happens if a genin tries."

"An enemy can grab you if you give them that much of a handle. If you are grabbed, you'll have to chop it off yourself to survive."

The pinkette shudders. "Who knew hair could be so dangerous. Do you think we'll learn how to deal with it in a different class?"

"I hope so." Ino pouts. "I want to grow mine out in a ponytail."

I blink at that. Has te rumor of sasuke liking long hair started. "Why?"

"Otou-san and all the other heads had long hair. It's tradition…. Isn't it the same for you Yo-chan?" So it wasn't for sasuke? Oh. She was thinking about it before and only used the crush as a justification then. Thinking it was a more noble cause than following her line.

"The Uzumaki clan in general liked to have long hair. In every illustration I saw in the books showed the female members having pretty red hair reaching their ankles or knees."

A loud clap brought our attention to the front.

A loud and sharp clap brings us back to the front where the woman stands. "I want Each of you to sing me a song. Any will do for now. I have to hear voices to place them."

Shit…. My mind starts shifting through the easiest vocaloid songs I could remember hearing in japanese. Then one from an Otome game inspired anime popped up. There was the dongo song. I get at the back of the line and watch with the other girls as they go up one by one. I'm getting nervous now. I loved singing. Still do despite limiting myself to hums because damn, it would suspicious if a little girl was heard singing in english.

Ino has a nice voice, so did Sakura. Hinata, who is the sweet little mouse, struggled with her stuttering. Then it was my turn. Taking a deep breath, I stand in front of my classmates. Words, words….Okay.

 _Dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku_ _  
_ _Dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku_

 _Yancha na yaki-dango yasashii an-dango_ _  
_ _Sukoshi yumemigachi na tsukimi-dango_ _  
_ _Osumashi goma-dango yotsugo kushi dango_ _  
_Minna minna awasete hyakunin kazoku

 _Aka-chan dango wa itsumo shiawase no naka de_ _  
_ _Toshiyori dango wa me o hosometeru_

 _Nakayoshi dango te o tsunagi ooki na marui wa ni naru yo_ _  
_ _Machi o tsukuri dango hoshi no ue minna de waraiau yo_ _  
_ _Usagi mo sora de te o futte miteru dekkai o-tsuki-sama_ _  
_Ureshii koto kanashii koto mo zenbu marumete

 _Nakayoshi dango te o tsunagi ooki na marui wa ni naru yo_ _  
_ _Machi o tsukuri dango hoshi no ue minna de waraiau yo_ _  
_ _Usagi mo sora de te o futte miteru dekkai o-tsuki-sama_ _  
_Ureshii koto kanashii koto mo zenbu marumete

 _Dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku_ _  
_ _Dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku_

I didn't realize I closed my eyes until I was opening them. Ino and Sakura wrap their arms around me. "That was a cute song! Where did you hear it?"

"Came to me in a dream." I state simply. Sensei, Shirohime I found out before this, smiled and dismissed class already. I guess there wasn't much else to do since she still had to organize the lesson for next time. Walking with the two colorful kunoichi-to-be and talking about simple things was nice.

Until the mothers came. Mebuki took one look at me and a flash of fear flickered in her eyes. Ino's mother had no reaction. She was also a yamanaka. Her pupiless amber brown eyes looked at me as if I was a bug under a microscope. She was very western in fashion which boosted the high class vibe. They said nothing to me. But I know they may say something to their daughters later. Why couldn't Inoichi pick Ino up again? He wasn't hateful.

Minato was his friend. I bite my lip and start walking down the road but two figures leaning against the fence stop me. Choji smiles shyly with an endearing kindness I already associate him with. "Mind if we walk you home?"

"I'm going to the Uchiha district for dinner. If you don't mind walking that far…"

Sikamaru pushes off the fence and shrugs. "Bit more troublesome but it's fine." He starts walking and I line myself up with the boys on both sides. A warm feeling bubbles in my chest as I smile to myself.

"Thanks, friends." I say, looping my arms with theirs.


End file.
